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Edmonton MP facing breathalyzer charge cancels Christmas open house

BY TRISH AUDETTE, EDMONTONJOURNAL.COM DECEMBER 12, 2011 7:05 PM

EDMONTON – Peter Goldring’s office staff say the Edmonton East MP has cancelled his annual Christmas open house, advertised to take place this Saturday at the Eastwood Community Hall.

Goldring was charged last week with refusing a breathalyzer test. He was leaving a north Edmonton fundraising dinner on Dec. 4 when police pulled him over. Goldring has not yet appeared in court to answer to the charge.

Since last week, however, Goldring has not made any public appearances and he quit Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative caucus. Goldring was first elected as Edmonton East’s representative in Ottawa in 1997 as a Reform party member, and stayed with the party through its transition to the Canadian Alliance and then the Conservative party.

In an advertisement published in the locally delivered Edmonton Examiner last week, Goldring invites constituents to his annual open house at the community hall Saturday afternoon.

On Monday, however, a staff member in Goldring’s constituency office said the event has been “cancelled due to circumstances beyond our control.”

The staff member did not share his name when asked, and said Goldring was not available to speak Monday.

The staff member could not say when the event had been cancelled.

The advertisement, which appeared in the Dec. 7 edition of the Examiner, is dominated by a letter from Goldring to constituents about the NDP’s attitude toward Alberta’s oilsands. It concludes by asking, “What do you think?” before noting the date, time and location of the open house. The ad makes no mention of the Conservative party.

Goldring’s court date has not yet been set.

Statistics: Posted by yoda — Mon Dec 12, 2011 9:23 pm